Safe cities and urban inclusion

August 2014 — One of the top priorities for building inclusive cities, safety still remains a big challenge in the Global South. Public spaces, work places, and roads are all places of potential danger, and political issues such as militarization and police corruption also result in insecurity. In these contexts, women and children are especially vulnerable.

This month's discussion focuses on solutions to safety-related issues such as crime, police corruption, militarization, perceived insecurity, child sexual abuse, road dangers, gender violence, street harassment, and even food insecurity. Read on to learn more about approaches to creating safe and inclusive cities, and then share your thoughts in the comments below.

The World Cup: How can Curitiba maintain the special security system after the event?

Curitiba, 26 August 2014 — Curitiba was considered one of the safest Brazilian cities during the World Cup period, with a considerably decreased crime rate. But the Cup has ended and citizens feel that violence is rising again. Reviewing Curitiba's strategy, what could they learn from the World Cup period in order to create a safer city? See more.

The World Cup: How can Curitiba maintain the special security system after the event?

Carla Link, São Paulo Community Manager

Violence and insecurity is one of the biggest problems of Brazilian cities, and constituted one of the main questions for the planning of the World Cup: how to ensure safety for the expected visitors? This wasn't an easy task for Brazil, a country in the top ten on the World Health Organization's homicide list.

The responsibility for World Cup security was shared between FIFA and the Brazilian Government, as it was defined in the World Cup General Law approved in 2012. The stadiums, the "Fan Fest" areas, and the football team's hotels are secured by private companies run by FIFA. The host cities created their own security strategies in cooperation with the state and federal governments and their police forces.

Curitiba was considered one of the safest cities during the World Cup period, with a considerably decreased crime rate. The strategy proposed by the local government was to unite three police forces: the military, the city guard, and the highway patrol. The result was four thousand policeman on the streets of Curitiba and other metropolitan regions by the beginning of the games. This was made possible by the inclusion of 2,500 new hires and the reassignment of administrative professionals into the street. The result was a 12 percent decrease in the number of burglaries during this period.

The main change was the increase in the police presence in Curitiba. For example, during the Brazilian team's last game that wasn't played in Curitiba, there were more than 100 policeman in the city's central area where fans celebrated the team's victory.

The World Cup has ended and citizens are noting an increase in violence on the streets. The number of violent homicides, for example, jumped from six during this period to 18 during the first weekend after the World Cup. What changed? The new hires left Curitiba and were distributed in other cities and the administrative workers went back to the office. The World Cup showed the city's ability to host and secure big temporary events. But it is possible to create a safer environment for Curitiba's citizens?

To consistently increase the number of police employees isn't sustainable or possible, especially considering the "Lei de Responsabilidade Fiscal" (Brazil's Fiscal Responsibility Law), which doesn't allow for more than 40 percent of the city's budget to be used for public employees' salaries. The World Cup has shown that police "presence" is fundamental to safety. So Curitiba's main challenge is to reproduce this feeling with different triggers, such as a more intelligent occupation of space or with citizens involvement. Close.

City Improvement Districts in Johannesburg: The neoliberal, safe, prosperous; and the informal otherwhere

Johannesburg, 25 August 2014 — With their theoretical underpinnings in American models of inner-city management and development, how relevant are "City Improvement Districts" to the social lives of Southern African cities? Unless such models can become more inclusive of informality and heterogeneity and create places of safety and opportunity for all, they may ultimately only further enforce fragmentation and tension in civil society. See more.

City Improvement Districts in Johannesburg: The neoliberal, safe, prosperous; and the informal otherwhere

Tariq Toffa, Johannesburg Community Manager

Most city centers in the post-apartheid South Africa are faced with challenges of urban decay, which call for urgent regeneration. The case of Johannesburg is particularly marked since the city is the economic hub of the country. In South Africa and globally, City Improvement Districts (CIDs) have emerged as a new urban space management tool in response to such problems as crime and grime in urban areas.

Given that regeneration for big business is a for-profit investment, although they create relatively cleaner and safer environments, they do so only for those who can afford the higher rentals. Urban regeneration, then, does not only involve reinvestment in the built environment but is also a process of gentrification which involves population transition from lower- to higher-class residents. Regeneration therefore must also be read in an ethical context: in relation to its immediate social environment, to the larger context of inequality, and in the broader context of overarching neoliberal economic management priorities.

CIDs in South Africa were initially meant for business improvement districts, and there have been very few CIDs in purely residential areas. This is an important distinction because in residential areas the effect on resident communities is greater than in largely business areas. In 2004, the voluntary residential CID "eKhaya Neighbourhood" ('at home') — one of the first residential CIDs in Johannesburg — was developed in the high-rise Hillbrow area, an infamous and deteriorated ‘no-go’ zone of the inner city. Atypical to many other CIDs, eKhaya, a voluntary association of approximately 30 property owner members in the area, has specifically attempted to mitigate the destructive social effects of CIDs by "helping to found authentic community-building." To this end, for example, eKhaya hosts annual soccer events and "Kids' Days," and partnerships between the City and the private sector also produced eKhaya's Neighborhood Park on a once neglected and overgrown open space.

Positive interventions such as those by eKhaya notwithstanding, they are nevertheless based on a neoliberal concept of community which has not adapted to the 'greyness' of the contemporary, post-apartheid condition; particularly in the inner city where the old separations (black / white, rural / urban, residential / business, public / private, etc.) now exist in new and uncertain combinations. Hillbrow, as a case in point, is more than slum and lawlessness, but is a popular, transitional, and continuously evolving public realm which continues to 'thrive' as an important port-of-entry into Johannesburg for migrants, immigrants, transnationals, or refugees. It is therefore questionable how sustainable a neoliberal community model is in this context; in terms of providing workable models that do not exclude, neglect, or shift to elsewhere the urban 'problems' of informality, heterogeneity, and cross-border mobility.

A truly democratic residential CID would mean participation of all stakeholders in its decision-making structure, negotiating a public consensus, and ultimately shaping the public space. In this case it is only the state that can ensure a balance between conflicting interests, while protecting the needs of the most marginalized. However, this would require a conceptual shift in accepting the coexistence of difference in the building of democracy, between lived realities and the City’s vision of a "World Class African City." Spatial practitioners too cannot continue to ignore broader ethical responsibilities, but should bring their design agency to bear upon imagining this new conceptual terrain, in creating places of inclusivity, safety, and opportunity for all. Close.

Keeping women safe on Cairo's streets

Cairo, 22 August 2014 — A number of important initiatives are working hard to provide protection for women and solve their security concerns on Cairo streets. HarassMap and Tahrir Bodyguards have paved the way in addressing sexual harassment. See more.

Keeping women safe on Cairo's streets

Shaima Abulhajj, Cairo Community Manager

The harassment of women in Egypt, especially in Cairo, has turned into an epidemic, with about 99 percent of Egyptian women reporting that they have been subjected to sexual harassment and ill-treatment. Sexual harassment in Cairo is commonly experienced by women in the form of body touching or verbal abuse. The Guardian reported that during celebrations at Tahrir Square over the ousting of President Mohamed Morsi, more than 80 women were sexually assaulted and raped in a single night.

One of the most effective and well-documented measures is Tahrir Bodyguard, which engages volunteer groups to provide legal, medical, and psychological support to women who are sexually assaulted. When assaults are reported, several groups of volunteers, equipped with spare clothes and flares, reach the location and provide immediate assistance to the victims. They often form a human circle around the woman being attacked in order to protect her. The organization is quick to respond to distress calls and provide immediate assistance to women. Volunteers from different fields of life are members, and they also work to protect women through awareness programs, counseling, medical aid, and real-time on-the-ground protection.

Another key initiative is HarassMap, which represents harassment reports on a special map. If the map showcases too many reports in one area, a team of members is sent to the location. Male volunteers discuss the problem with local shop-owners and residents, while women volunteers help with counseling and post-rescue medical treatment of the harassed women. To report an incident, women can anonymously send information via text message. HarassMap analyzes the data about the incidents and provides information about which areas are more susceptible to attacks, about the perpetrators of crimes, and also about the victims themselves in order to provide them with assistance. HarassMap also engages in community mobilization to spread awareness about such human rights, freedom, and legal violations. They place "harassment free zone" stickers at shops and buildings to influence the culture of intervention and anti-harassment policies.

Other organizations, such as the Egyptian Center for Women's Rights and the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights, also engage in various legislative and interactive methods to curtail sexual harassment of women in Cairo. All these methods are beginning to show signs of reducing cases of sexual harassment to women, which helps protect the rights of women and promote security in Cairo. Close.

Including children in the development process

Surabaya, 21 August 2014 — Children don't often have a say in development, with the result that they are consistently left out during the planning process. However, Surabaya has committed to applying the Child Decent City program using the Children Forum as a medium to gather children's aspirations to be passed on to the government. See more.

Including children in the development process

Widya Anggraini, Surabaya Community Manager

Children are often classified as minorities during development planning, along with women and the elderly. As a result, they are consistently excluded during the decision-making process, even though they have the same right to establish their hopes for urban development. Several cities in Indonesia including Surabaya, which has won several awards such as the Child Decent City award of 2011, 2012, and 2013, have adopted the Child Decent City (CDC) program. CDC in Surabaya seeks to create an environment and community that is conducive for child development by providing facilities and infrastructure that expand their social and psychological potential. One of the approaches is the creation of the children's forum as a means of participation for the children of Surabaya.

The CDC provides a venue for children to come forth with their ideas, either individually or as a group. Through the children forum, they are able to express their opinions of their dream city. This forum also serves as a means for child participation and a communication medium between children and the government. The forum works at the national and provincial levels, as well as at the city, district, and village levels. These forums are usually monitored by the Student Council, Muslim Youths, scouts, sports clubs, and other suitable programs.

Various children's organizations and school clubs send their representatives to attend the children's forum. The organizer of this event is the Child Protection Institute of East Java. Based on the experience of the CPI, the activity reveals various new ideas and creativity: one of the results is the formulation of a recommendation to the local government about what a child-decent city looks like. The mentioned recommendation includes suggestions like providing crosswalks near schools, public phones in school, safe pedestrian walkways, and children's playgrounds. Aside from the local government, the children's forum also gives recommendations to fellow students about the negative influences of alcoholic drinks, bullying, drugs, and promiscuity.

In addition, the Ministry of Women Empowerment and Child Protection supports the program via the Dafa Award, an annual awards event for the children's forum, which also serves as a fun way to collect information and data. The aim of this award event is to gather data on the spread of the children's forum and its conditions, due to its increasing numbers across Surabaya. Furthermore, the Dafa Award acts as a creativity event as participants make attractive maps of their forums containing information such as the locations of the children forum secretariat, the spread of the children forum, routes to the secretariat, area conditions, government offices closest to meeting location, and tourism sites. This activity is both a fun and productive way to boost the participation of children in Surabaya's urban development. Close.

Using technology to save lives

Caracas, 20 August 2014 — The Municipality of Sucre in Caracas has introduced innovative projects to reduce the homicide rate by 40 percent in the last four years. Their latest project uses geo-referenced data and GPS to track homicide hotspots and implement strategic patrolling to prevent crime. See more.

In 2013, a new violence prevention policy was introduced, consisting of methodically patrolling homicide hotspots. The new policy is based on the hotspot theory developed by David Weisburd, which proposes that "intensified police patrols in high-crime hot spots can substantially decrease crime without causing it to rise in other areas." With a deficit of policemen in the Municipality of Sucre (900 policemen when the normal amount would be 3,000), using technology to focus efforts on specific sites offers an innovative strategy that allows them to make the most of their policing capacity. The hotspots project was developed as an inter-institutional effort by Stanford University PhD candidate Dorothy Kronick, leading Latin American development bank Corporación Andina de Fomento (CAF), social enterprise LOCALIS, the municipal government, and the state police. An initial study was developed with geo-referenced homicide data from the state government police to determine where the "hot spots" were. The strategy of the municipal police has been to patrol each spot four times a day for fifteen minutes. The goal is to make the place safer by preventing crime with a regular police presence. At the same time, in order to supervise that the policemen are patrolling, police cars have GPS incorporated so that that police headquarters can track if patrolling is taking place. GPS devices are also included on policemen's belts for the same tracking purpose. Since this policy was launched in September 2013, homicide has been falling: there was only one in early August. In the last four and half years of Ocariz's administration, homicides have been reduced by 40 percent, but the goal of the administration is to reduce it by half.

The hot spots policy has been a disciplined strategy to control homicides, but other great practices have been developed in Sucre. One of the most successful has taken place in Petare, consisting of building public spaces in the slums: by building parks and football fields, homicides have been reduced by 6 percent in Sucre. The initiative has proven that urban interventions and having people using and taking ownership of public spaces helps to change the character of the space and make it safer (Image 2). For example, the new Sports Complex in Mesuca opened in December 2013 on a former dumping ground and offers a new, safe recreational space for people living in Petare. Another approach has been to rely on community involvement and micromanagement. For instance, the "police godfather" policy assigns one policeman to each community within smaller sectors of the slum. This policeman maintains open and direct communication with the community by being in charge of a sector.

These municipal policies, claiming public spaces, police patrolling, and community engagement can all help reduce crime. However, in order to have a larger impact that can stop homicides, the national government needs to improve the penitentiary system, stop drug trafficking and kidnapping, reward policemen appropriately, and provide access to education and work opportunities to youth. Fighting violence must be a priority for the country as well as on the city level. Close.

Enforcement and education to combat crime in Cali

Cali, 19 August 2014 — Crime rates in Cali have risen slightly since 2010. To reverse this trend, the city authorities have adopted a series of measures that combine traditional enforcement and gun control with educational measures geared to the younger inhabitants of the comunas most plagued by violence. See more.

Enforcement and education to combat crime in Cali

Jorge Bela, Cali Community Manager

Crime rates in Cali rose slightly in the period 2010-2013. The number of murders, for instance, rose from 1824 in 2010 to 1939 in 2013. In order to reverse this trend, the city authorities have adopted a series of measures that appear to have had a positive impact: the number of murders in the first six months of 2014 has been of 730, which is 27 percent lower than the same period in 2013. The rate is still one of the highest in Colombia, and certain high profile attacks have heightened the sense of insecurity, but lower numbers do hold some promise that the trend has been reversed.

Some of the measures adopted have been traditional enforcement operations. The number of police officers has been increased, and dozens of cameras have been installed in public spaces. Since street gang violence is especially severe, many of the operations have focused on them, and the city claims that 16 gangs have been disbanded and 159 of their members arrested. Perhaps as important has been the suspension of most of the permits to bear arms in the most violent comunas (neighborhoods). The army is enforcing this measure that was set to expire in May but has been extended at the request of the city government. The Mayor, in fact, wanted it to apply in the entire city, but this request was not accepted by the central government.

In addition to enforcement and stricter gun control, the city has initiated several educational programs for the younger inhabitants of the comunas. One of these programs is called Desármate, Medítele A Este Cuento (which can be roughly translated as "Give Up Your Arms, Think About This Tale"). Through this initiative, the children that give up their toy guns will receive a story book in exchange. Using all the collected guns, an artist will make a sculpture in the shape of a dove. The Asesoria por la Paz, a city entity, will coordinate this project, which will be implemented through the entire educational system in Cali. The goal of the project is to create awareness of the problem that violence represents in the region, and the fact that they can play a role in ending it.

Another educational initiative, Salud Para 11 (Health for 11) is sponsored by FIFA, the federation in charge of organizing the World Cup, in cooperation with the city government. Through this program, 34 schools received a soccer equipment kit for the students, and their physical education teachers received specific training on soccer techniques. A related initiative is the program to install new, brighter lighting in hundreds of parks in Cali, to make them safer and more accessible, as sunset occurs at approximately 6pm year-round. Both initiatives share the goal to provide youth with safe and educational alternatives to gangs and violence.

The causes of violence in Cali are complex, and so is the fight to end it. Education and the creation of safe spaces for sports are certainly a necessary complement to police enforcement and security measures. Close.

Gated and ungated communities in the World Design Capital

Cape Town, 18 August 2014 — Notwithstanding the global similarities among gated settlements, there are also many nuanced local realities. For affluent households, gated communities may result from fear of crime, privatization or exclusivism; but within segregated areas affected by poverty there is conversely also the desire to open up to wider linkages. Gated and ‘ungated’ communities reveal that notions of safety, sustainment of life, and inclusiveness can translate very differently in different contexts. See more.

Gated and ungated communities in the World Design Capital

Tariq Toffa, Cape Town Community Manager

All South African towns and cities are marked by wealth and race segregation. Among the major cities, Cape Town probably more than any other contains a deeply segregated socio-spatial form. With such effective separations, its middle-class suburbs have not experienced, like their counterparts in Johannesburg, the extreme fear of crime and of the 'otherness' of poverty, and its shaping of a culture characterized by security as a way of life. Gated communities too have not reached the levels of those in Johannesburg (in 2002 there were 25 gated communities compared to approximately 300 in Johannesburg).

Notwithstanding the global similarities among gated settlements, there are also many nuanced local realities. Although Cape Town contains relatively few gated communities per se, together with industrial and urban agricultural areas there have been over 1000 public space closures over the last four decades, which appear to have more to do with a culture of privatization and exclusivism than a fear of crime. Moreover, where many affluent households in the large metropolitan areas desire to insulate themselves from the worlds of 'otherness' beyond, in areas affected by poverty the case can be strikingly different. There, beyond concerns of safety, there is also its apparent opposite: the desire to open up and dismantle spatial and economic structures which entrench poverty upon generations, seeking instead wider linkages.

In Langa and Gugulethu, two black townships closest to Cape Town CBD, the Maboneng Township Arts Experience (MTAE) is one project which seeks to link these segregated areas to wider networks and to develop economic and cultural hubs. Launched in 2001 in Alexandra in Johannesburg, MTAE runs an annual national public festival over two days in several townships around the country, where public outdoor spaces are turned into performance arts districts, and residential living rooms are remarkably turned into public art galleries, where visitors follow guided door to door visits. Rather than separation and exclusivism, here a culture of radical openness, artistic unity and paying it forward is advocated.

Several strategies were employed in this 'ungating' of communities. First, MTAE works with existing resources in communities, as well as city projects, privately sponsored development programs, and art galleries. Second, to help achieve sustainable socio-economic conditions beyond "poverty tourism," MTAE has strategically synchronized its festivals with major national cultural events and hopes to itself also become a top destination-maker. Third, in 2013 the project also began creating physical linkages for its festivals through the introduction of shuttle buses, and through MTAE's first city-based gallery in the luxurious Mount Nelson Hotel in Cape Town.

With these innovations MTAE is beginning to receive increasing recognition, most notably being chosen as one of the projects for Cape Town 2014 World Design Capital. Radically innovative projects of this kind, however, were compelled more out of a position of need than choice, and their grassroots embracement is an indication of the latent desire in these communities for greater economic opportunities and collaborations. These segregated, yet 'ungated' communities, when measured against exclusivist gated communities, also reveal that notions of safety, sustainment of life, and inclusiveness do not take a single or conventional form but can translate very differently in different contexts. Such projects, especially in this "World Design Capital," reveal that designing within contexts of radical inequality is not an even-handed practice in neutrality. Rather, since socio-economic and physical landscapes are so unevenly negotiated, safe and inclusive spaces must be thoughtful, nuanced and strategic. If design will not be for social change, then at least it must be for the most humane assembly of differences. Close.

Women's safety in a culture of impunity and gender policing

Delhi, 15 August 2014 — How might one tackle the issue of gender discrimination and violence in an impunitive context? The article talks about a whole panoply of things that need to change in Delhi to create a safe city for women. See more.

Women's safety in a culture of impunity and gender policing

Priyanka Jain, Delhi Community Manager

The National Capital Region of Delhi is not a great place to be a woman. The city has a very serious issue of pervasive gender discrimination and violence. Since the much-publicized rape in 2012, Indian papers have been crammed with gory stories of brutal sexual assaults, marital rapes, against 6-year-olds, against train passengers, against daughters and against wives. Ways in which women are not valorized are endemic in Indian society. How might one tackle the female security issue in a context where whole panoply of things need to change?

There is a prevalent and entrenched culture of impunity in Delhi. The police don't frequently bother to prosecute rape and gender violence cases, and victims are often put through a traumatic experience while lodging police reports, which deters filing of complaints in the proper manner. This point has been highlighted in the most recent expert investigation of gender-based violence in India, produced by a high-level committee chaired by Justice [J.S.] Verma, a former head of the Indian Supreme Court. The committee's wide-ranging recommendations included proposals for new offenses, including criminalizing marital rape, sexual intercourse by a person in authority, and gang rape. They looked at the whole context in which gender violence is taking place. The committee wisely noted the very acute problems of social exclusion and structural violence that need to be addressed more vigorously and systematically.

Changes have already been made with the launch of fast track courts and a Special Police Unit for women in Delhi. But, we need to have a much more robust set of preventive measures to tackle the problem. One organization Jagori, in partnership with UN Women, the Department of Women and Child Development, Casp Plan Delhi Unit, Satark Nagrik Sangathan, and TARA, is strengthening community collectives of largely women and youth in Delhi. The groups have conducted safety audits in their neighborhoods to identify gender-related gaps in infrastructure and essential services. They have also collated the findings to share with the respective authorities for immediate action. The work is part of the "Safe City Free of Violence Against Women and Girls" initiative (launched in 2009) and "Safe Delhi Campaign" (launched in 2004).

It is also fundamentally important to change the way that Indian society thinks about gender. That is, about masculinity, about femininity, about what it is to be a strong man or a strong boy, what women's role and position in society are – very basic notions that, in terms of the constitution of India and formally speaking, have been accepted since Indian independence but in reality are not implemented. No Country For Women is a national campaign to change this problematic attitude through education, conversation, and action. The campaign is an effort of three undergraduates from Brown University with support and collaboration from Projects for Peace, Transhuman Collective, YourStory and Brown University. They conduct educational workshops in schools and colleges on issues such as gender policing, and raise awareness about socio-cultural causes of rape through social and mass media.

The Delhi rape of 2012 is a placeholder - since then, there has been a lot of movement and hope. Still, there is an urgent need for sustained government engagement on gender-based violence issues across a range of domains. Real progress will require a wide range of systemic and far-reaching measures. Close.

Make room for pedestrians on India's roads

Bangalore, 14 August 2014 — A recent study rated Bangalore as having some of the most errant drivers in the country. The bad road behavior mixed with poor roads and lack of footpaths has put residents at risk of injury and death. Ashoka Changemakers took notice of the need for improved road safety in India and launched an online, crowd-sourced ideas competition. The winner has the potential for widespread appeal across the country. See more.

Make room for pedestrians on India's roads

Carlin Carr, Bangalore Community Manager

Earlier this year, a well-known road safety activist from Bangalore was killed on the very streets she sought to improve. Kadambari Badami, who was a 37-year-old urban planner, was driving home when a bus traveling on the wrong side of the road ploughed into her car, killing the sole occupant on impact. Her case brought to light the woeful state of Bangalore's streets and the great risk at which both drivers and pedestrians travel on them.

Outraged citizens harnessed the attention to bring awareness to the need for improved road safety in the city. The demands have included more footpaths, which many activists claim are nearly non-existent. According to an article following the accident, half the people killed in accidents in Bangalore in 2012 were pedestrians. These issues cut across socio-economics, but disproportionately impact the poor, since few have access to cars and many walk to work. Children from disadvantaged neighborhoods use roads as cricket pitches and playgrounds in the absence of parks and safe play spaces. Errant drivers put these children at risk on a daily basis.

In Bangalore, motorist behavior is a major issue, in addition to poor roads and lack of footpaths. A survey on walkability in India found that Bangalore scored the lowest of seven surveyed cities with just 30 out of 100 points in the "motorist behavior" category. The survey's objective was to rate the Indian cities on walkability parameters and to inform policymakers and stakeholders on the changes required. "Bangalore's low score implies that vehicles seldom stop for pedestrians to cross a road and often halt on the zebra crossing at signals leaving pedestrians with minimum or no space to cross a road," says the site Walkability Asia. "At times, vehicles are driven on the footpaths, robbing the pedestrians of their exclusive zone. More worrying is that the areas where schools are located, too, fared equally badly."

In an effort to improve road safety conditions in India, Ashoka Changemakers, in collaboration with Underwriters Laboratories (UL), launched an online competition, 'Safer Roads, Safer India: Game-changing Innovations that Save Lives,' to crowd-sourcing ideas from across the country. One of the winning initiatives is from Delhi, Raahgiri Day, but has the potential for widespread appeal and implementation across the country.

For a few hours every Sunday morning, Delhiites celebrate freedom from cars. Raahgiri Day, as it is called, closes down a main part of Delhi to vehicular traffic for residents to walk, job, roller skate, ride bikes or to simply play. The Raahgiri initiative has been organized by Delhi Police and New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) with EMBARQ India. A.S. Bhal, economic adviser in the urban development ministry, said, "It's an exciting initiative that has gained a lot of traction. It focuses on the fact that roads are meant for all and not just motorized traffic."

Car-free days are simple, low-cost solutions that could easily be implemented in cities across the country. These types of initiatives take political will and active collaboration from citizens, but send a strong message: roads are not only meant for cars. It's a message that can go a long way in improving respect for pedestrians using the roads every day and to improving the safety of citizens young and old in Indian cities. Close.

Securing daily transportation and road use

Lagos, 13 August 2014 — Enhanced security efforts in Lagos are creating a safer city for residents. Initiatives like a security trust fund made up of various security agencies, and recent traffic laws created to improve safety in Lagos are gradually impacting road safety and general well-being for Lagos commuters. See more.

Securing daily transportation and road use

Olatawura Ladipo-Ajayi, Lagos Community Manager

Early last year, there was a robbery incident which received wide coverage because the altercation led to the death of the victim, a 27-year-old rising medical doctor. Lagos, the sixth largest city in the world, with a population of over 17 million people, registers over 200,000 vehicles annually and reports 224 vehicles per kilometer, as against 15 vehicles per kilometer in other parts of Nigeria. With this and millions of road users, this story is just one of many security challenges of daily transportation in Lagos. Incidents include snatched purses, stolen cars, gunpoint robberies, and the harassment of public transport users. The incidents take place at all hours of the day.

In response to the safety challenges on the streets of Lagos emanating from robberies, road traffic conditions, road safety violations, and the use of commercial motorcycles (okada) to perpetuate robberies, the city created the Lagos State Security Trust Fund through public-private partnerships in 2007. The Trust was established to combat violent crimes in the city. This is accomplished by augmenting the efforts of the national police with additional security agencies such as the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA), and the acquisition and deployment of security equipment and human, material and financial resources for effective functioning of all federal, state, local and other security agencies.

While crime is difficult to eradicate completely, the city's approach to reducing its incidence and securing the safety of Lagos' commuters has been working. Over the last few years, the approach has been to station security personnel (police and LASTMA officials) on motorways, busy bus-stops and stations. This creates a law enforcement presence to deter crime, safeguard pedestrians and motorists, and provide quick response to emergency situations. Furthermore, okadas (commercial motorcycles used as vehicles for hire) have been banned from motorways. The ban is partly due to a recent study that revealed that out of 30 armed robbery incidents recorded in Lagos between July and September 2012, 22 involved okadas. Changes are being seen and more are expected soon due to the ban.

In addition to these efforts, an awareness campaign with security tips ranging from transport to personal security is being aired on local radio stations, cautioning commuters to be security-conscious, take cognizance of their environments, and report suspicious activities to the nearest law enforcement official or call the designated 11-digit phone line. These jingles come in different languages (Yoruba, Broken English (Pidgin), and English) to cover a wide range of Lagos' residents. In addition to the 11-digit phone lines, the city created short-code emergency lines 767 and 112 through which emergency situations, including crime and suspicious activities, can be reported.

The effects of these activities are hard to quantify as there are limited updates on crime figures, but one thing is sure: residents go about their daily business feeling a little safer than before. Commuters leaving work at night are comforted by the thought of security personnel stationed on their route. Nonetheless, more effort could be put into analyzing the effect so as to highlight areas that need further securing and programs that can be fine-tuned for better effect. Also, the issue of continuous improvement on security personnel capacity and efficiency, especially the national police, becomes vital. However, this can only begin at the national level, and serves as one of the many cases for advocating for a state police, which currently does not exist. Close.

Police forces and civilians partner up for safety

Jakarta, 12 August 2014 — Jakarta's police forces have ranked first as Indonesia's most corrupt institution during the past several years. Reforms have been carried out, but the results have not been optimal. Nevertheless, during this process, the Police and Citizen Partnership Association and Police and Citizen Partnership Forum were established as a result of a partnership between the Indonesian National Police and the Japanese International Cooperation Agency in an attempt to increase civilian participation in monitoring the performance of the police forces, and to bring them closer to civilians. See more.

Police forces and civilians partner up for safety

Widya Anggraini, Jakarta Community Manager

In 2013, Indonesian International Transparency announced that Jakarta's police is one of the most corrupt public institutions in Indonesia. There are two types of corruption commonly observed, internal and external. Internal corruption is mostly related to receiving or offering bribery for positions and the police recruitment process. External corruption directly involves civilians, such as illegal fees to issue official documents such as drivers licenses, vehicle titles, vehicle registration certificates, etc. This form of corruption is very damaging, diminishing as it does the trust towards the police as an institution, whose central task is to protect and provide a sense of security. Moreover, the image of the police is intimidating, causing civilians and police forces to be distant from one another. The police actually have been undergoing reforms for the past 14 years. However, these reforms have not led to significant improvement, attracting scrutiny towards the process. Nevertheless, there is an interesting improvement, the formation of the Police and Citizen Partnership Association (PCPA) as a means to increase civilian participation and police-civilian interaction, so that police activity can be more beneficial, transparent, and accountable.

The PCPA was founded in 2002 with the help of the Japanese International Cooperation Agency in order to establish a friendly impression of police services and to create an active partnership so that civilians will be more inclined to report incidents to the police. The PCPA has two important pillars: prompt responses towards civilian claims and reports, and dealing with them sincerely. This is based on the experience that the police have not been fast enough in responding to incoming reports, some times not showing up to the scene of a crime until a week later. As soon as the PCPA started operating, the police took only 15 minutes to arrive on location. The PCPA improves the work capacity of the police via programs for communication, criminal identification, and education and training.

According to the police institution, the most important result from the PCPA is the increase in trust from citizens, and the partnership that they established. This was formalized through the Police and Citizen Partnership Forum, which is led by civilians themselves. Through this forum, there have been initiatives such as patrols, surveillance, visits, and direct involvement to help create a safe and harmonious environment. In addition, the forum also accepts reports of misuse of authority by police officers on duty.

PCPA stations are posted in various locations throughout Jakarta, and each of its buildings is equipped with patrol cars, speedy motorcycles, walkie-talkies, and computers. This infrastructure enables the police to arrive faster in response to incoming reports, and also when exposing crimes. With the work of the partnership forum, civilians are expect to become closer to the police, and will not be hesitant to report incidents. The installation of PCPA posts and the participatory approach of the program will cultivate a clean and dynamic legal practice, as well as positive accountability control. Close.

Safety in Rio de Janeiro — the case of the UPPs

Rio de Janeiro, 11 August 2014 — Rio de Janeiro's government recently launched the Pacifying Police Units (UPPs) in the city's informal territories, emphasizing the issue of public security. Despite contestations, the program marks the presence of the state in these long-neglected areas of Rio de Janeiro. See more.

Safety in Rio de Janeiro — the case of the UPPs

Eliana Barbosa, Rio de Janeiro Community Manager

Apart from the Samba, the informal areas of Rio de Janeiro have an image strongly linked to violence and drug gangs. Many of the slums in Rio, stigmatized as the most violent in the world since the 1970s, had been going through an important process of transformation in the last few years, linked to the safety issues reinforced by a strengthening of the government presence in these territories.

Before the provision and enhancement of urban infrastructure, services, and equipment came a controversial program of "pacification" of these areas, led by the state security secretary, with the aim of rescuing these areas from the influence of organized crime and militias, marking the presence of the state known in some areas where it was historically absent.

Launched in 2008, the program is a permanent occupation of informal territories by a Pacifying Police Unit (Unidade de Polícia Pacificadora — UPP), with advanced police bases installed in communities. According to the Security Secretary of Rio State, in six years of the program, 38 UPPs were installed, involving around 10,000 officers.

There has been some discussion about possible financial goals of the program, transforming these areas into sources of income. This would be done through the increase in tax revenue and the income of public services such as water and electricity and, later, improvements in the tourism and real estate sectors. But generally, there is a certain consensus regarding the actual improvements in safety and the decrease of violent crimes.

This decrease is in part due to the involvement of a local police unit, which reassembles the concept of community guard, working with local residents and improving trust. The program's strength also stems from success in adapting to increasingly discrete organized crime, which heads further underground when there are more policemen around.

In an interview with the O Globo Newspaper, the head of the first UPP at Morro Santa Marta, in traditional Botafogo neighborhood, affirmed that this adaptation is fundamental to decreasing violence, alleging that drug dealers exist in all big cities of the world, yet it was in the slums of Rio that they had felt comfortable enough walking around carrying automatic weapons. With the UPPs and the slum occupation this scene, crystalized in movies like City of God, is not as common. The head of the Santa Marta UPP argues that the absence of police in the informal areas of Rio until the 1980s allowed the sprawl of organized crime. The first initiatives of the police, guided by BOPE (a special force of the military police), were very violent, a true war between the police and the drug dealers, causing a lot of civilian casualties. With the permanent occupation, supported by social actions and the expansion of urban infrastructure in the slums, direct confrontation is not as common and the violent actions of the police, as the famous case of the construction worker Amarildo who went missing after being arrested in an UPP, are less frequent.

The so-called pacification of the slums in Rio, far from solving the wider issues of right to the city for its inhabitants, opens the path to the provision not only of safety, but also other civil rights and public services such as health, education, and accessibility, which were denied for many years in these areas. For better or worse, as said by the Secretary of Public Safety of Rio State José Mariano Beltrame: "The State has entered, the territory belongs to the State and we are not leaving." Close.

Rebuilding social capital for safety

Gemma Todd, Dar es Salaam Community Manager

We often try to think of what creates a safe city — groups may emphasize the desire for gated communities as a means of safety, excluding those who are to be 'feared'; policy may articulate a discourse of rights to ensure the public is legally safe; and planners have focused on redesigning public space. But two questions that this article wishes to raise concerns what a safe city looks like, and how 'unsafe' is the city — how does the discourse, and psychology, of fear in cities affect how we interact in our urban spaces? In focusing on solutions in Dar es Salaam, this article introduces initiatives implemented, and emphasizes the need for solutions whereby spaces are created to change the perceptions, and reality, of insecurity. To do this requires focusing on growing inequalities, rebuilding social capital (i.e. trust and social relations), and connecting local initiatives to national scales.

The Safer Cities Programmes (SCP) launched by UN-HABITAT is an initiative collaborating with African mayors, across African cities, to reduce violence and change how cities are experienced, ultimately making cities safer for inhabitants. The initiative introduces activities and develops the capacity of local authorities and stakeholders to provide safety. Dar es Salaam was one of the cities identified. In 1996 a need was identified to firstly understand crime in the city — identifying women and youths as key at-risk groups, especially in particular areas. Secondly, the need to introduce 'safety conscious' urban planning, physically planning and renewing urban spaces and facilities in response to insecurity — such as transport, parks, and street-vending area. Thirdly, SCP emphasized the need to change perceptions of institutions providing safety, and prevent insecurities. The need to train police, institutions, and ward leaders, was followed. At ward levels, community police, such as Sungu-Sungu, were established to respond to community need. An evaluation of the programmes in 2004 identified the successes made in terms of strengthening local and national institutional frameworks, but also the need to utilise bottom-up community-led approaches to solve local crime issues. A positive element of SCP is the focus on the city as a whole, and recognition of the need to involve multiple stakeholders.

However, are we just improving access to 'safety' services, or are such programmes changing the underlying structures of insecurity, danger, and crime? In looking at building safer cities we need to look at the social inequalities in cities, question why discourses of fear emerge, and rebuilding trust.

Within Dar es Salaam, spaces have been made to invite a dialogue about insecurities. The construction of such spaces builds trust and creates an ethic of transparency for those whom feel unsafe. Such spaces encourage discussions on experiences of insecurities, a key step to change. Examples of such spaces include plans to develop One-Stop Centres, a UNICEF initiative in Dar es Salaam, and the opening of Gender and Children desks in police stations. Cases of gender-based-violence (GBV) have previously remained invisible, with victims less likely to speak out in fear of how they would be received. The creation of new GBV desks in Dar es Salaam has been shown to result in a rise in reported cases, breaking a culture of silence and acceptance. Such openness also indicates improved trust relations with local authorities. However, such desks remain under-resourced with victims forced to share cases of violence in single rooms.

In order to ensure that Dar es Salaam continues to progress in becoming a 'safer' city, spaces are needed where victims feel supported, listened to, and that actions are taken. There is value in seeing the city as a space whereby social capital can be built, and using such relations for safety. Close.

At-work kindergartens: the first step out of the poverty trap

Ho Chi Minh City, 7 August 2014 — Three consecutive child rape and harassment incidents have recently taken place in District 9, Ho Chi Minh City's hotspot for child harassment. Such incidents start a cycle of sexual exploitation and poverty for female migrant workers. To help their female employees, a few employers have come up with a promising initiative: at-work kindergartens. See more.

At-work kindergartens: the first step out of the poverty trap

Tam Nguyen, Ho Chi Minh City Community Manager

At the beginning of 2014, Vietnam Television broadcast a long segment that alarmed the migrant parents living in Ho Chi Minh City. Three consecutive child rape and child harassment incidents had taken place in District 9, the hotspot of child harassment in Ho Chi Minh City. The most common scenarios were in crowded migrant worker communities where both parents had to work full-time, leaving their pre-school children at home alone, due to the lack of affordable at-work kindergarten. It is even more disturbing to see this kind of situation leading to a cycle of sexual exploitation and poverty for female migrant workers.

At pre-school age, the children of migrant workers mostly stay alone inside locked homes for several reasons: migrant parents have no extended family members nearby to help with childcare; existing kindergartens are usually very far from the industrial zones where parents work; and the average kindergarten fee is around VND 500,000 (USD$24) per month, which is approximately 20 percent of the parents' migrant worker salary. Not knowing to distance themselves from strangers or to refuse to allow others to touch their sensitive parts, the small girls easily fall victim to their ill-intentioned neighbors without even knowing what is happening to them.

Entering adolescence, either having suffered from or witnessed similar harassment happening to their peers within these crowded communities, these female youth face high risks of unsafe sex. The national Survey Assessment of Vietnamese Youth (SAVY) has confirmed that this particular group of young migrants in urban areas, who are often less educated, are most likely to engage in unsafe premarital sex, which easily leads to teenage pregnancy.

Becoming mothers at a very young age, these teenagers usually leave school early, which results in low literacy and low-paying jobs. Subsequently, their children repeat the same cycle of "home alone, early sex, early pregnancy, poverty."

Employer initiatives

As an initial step to break this cycle, a few employers in Ho Chi Minh City have recently built kindergartens with subsidized fees inside the industrial zones. One good example is the Hiệp Phước Industrial Zone, which built both a residential building for its workers and a kindergarten that is able to accommodate 150 children on its ground floor. "Every morning I drop my two-year-old daughter there and then walk to work. I can pick her up whenever I finish work in the afternoon,” says Đào Thị Ngọc Giàu, an employee at Hiệp Phước.

Another example is Pouyuen Company's USD 2 million kindergarten, which is intended to accommodate 2,000 children. It is worth noting not only because of the significant resources invested, but also because it has not been allowed to operate, due to the fact that the company has 100 percent foreign investment and did not register to do business in education. This example suggests that the government must make an effort to establish procedures flexible enough to encourage well-meaning employers. Close.

Mapping crimes to see the gaps between actual crime and perceived insecurity

Bogotá, 6 August 2014 — Although official crime rates are decreasing in Bogotá, the perception of insecurity is on the rise. This is due in part to the rise of certain high impact crimes, such as violent mobile phone thefts, which are rarely reported to the police. Social media tools can be of help in presenting a more accurate and useful picture of the real crime situation in Bogotá. See more.

Mapping crimes to see the gaps between actual crime and perceived insecurity

Jorge Bela, Bogotá Community Manager

Although authorities claim that crime rates in Bogota have been decreasing substantially, public perception of insecurity has not decreased. The Metropolitan Police, for instance, claims that in 2013 the homicide rate decreased by 16 percent from the previous year, and the higher social impact crimes, such as violent mobile phone robbery, decreased by 11 percent in the same period. However, according to a survey published by the City of Bogota, perceptions of insecurity rose sharply in 2012 (46 percent of those surveyed said they felt insecure, while only 38 percent did in 2011); although it decreased to 42 percent in 2013, it is still substantially higher than in 2011.

These apparently contradictory sets of numbers reflect two underlying and interconnected problems: the shifting nature of high impact crimes (defined as crimes that have more impact on the population), and the immense difficulty in obtaining accurate crime data in Bogotá. Street robberies are the crimes identified in the survey as the ones that contribute most to creating a sense of insecurity. Drug dealing and gangs come second and third. A whopping 77 percent of those surveyed declared that they have been the victims of a theft (same rate for 2011, 2012, and 2013). It becomes clear that these sky high rates of victimization are at the root of the sense of insecurity in Bogotá. Only one in four victims report the crime to the police.

Another layer in the difficulty of understanding the real crime situation in Bogotá is the often conflicting data presented by different authorities. For example, the Metropolitan Police reports a murder rate of 16.1 per 100,000 for 2013, a remarkable improvement from previous years. This is in fact the lowest rate in three decades, but is still significantly higher than the rate published by the City, which is 13 murders per 100,000. The Instituto de Medicina Legal (the national forensic agency) often also publishes different murder rates.

Thus, underreporting of high impact crime and inaccurate official statistics explain how despite the fact that crime rates are declining, the sense of insecurity remains the same or increases. Mapping of crime generates a better understanding of the actual situation, thus bringing perception closer to reality. Traditional media can play a key role in this process. El Tiempo, Colombia's leading newspaper, periodically publishes maps in which crimes in Bogotá are geographically represented. In 2012 they launched a collaborative initiative, now discontinued, in which readers could report crimes. Still, social and collaborative technologies can provide substantial tools for closing the perception gap. One of these initiatives, Ecocitizen World Map Project, provides the basic technological backbone to map any urban problem, including crime. Ecocitizen loads the maps and any official data set available. Registered users can use Ecocitizen's tools to upload their own data sets in additional layers. There is even the possibility of end users reporting the crimes of which they have been victims. Thus, complementing official data sets with social data sets can provide a more comprehensive view of the real situation. The ability to present these data sets on accurate maps provides further capacity to better understand and communicate the problem. Social GIS are still in their early stages. A base map for Bogotá, for example, is not yet available, although Medellin's is already on line. Ecocitizen, and similar socially driven solutions offer great promise in the quest to obtain practical insights in the reality of urban problems. Close.

Breaking the silence on child sexual abuse in India

Mumbai, 5 August 2014 — Shocking statistics reveal that nearly half of all Indian children have been sexually abused. The issue has only recently been addressed on a national level. Mumbai-based NGO Arpan was one of the first and now has one of the largest programs in the world working to eliminate sexual abuse against children. See more.

Breaking the silence on child sexual abuse in India

Carlin Carr, Mumbai Community Manager

Sexual abuse and violence runs rampant through India. A 2007 government study — the first and largest of its kind in the country — covered 13 states and 12,447 children, and put numbers to an epidemic that had quietly been silenced for too long. The results validated findings from other NGOs over the last couple of decades: 40 to 50 percent of children in India have suffered from sexual abuse. The issue cuts across caste and class, even though it is often thought of as a problem of the poor. Further, a study by a Chennai-based NGO in 2006 showed that boys and girls are equally impacted: 39 percent of girls and 48 percent of boys faced sexual abuse.

Recent news headlines reveal the abuse is not just from family members or neighbors but also in the supposed safety of school. On July 2 in Bangalore, a six-year-old girl was raped at a private school in the city. Although victims of child sexual abuse (CSA) often shy away from reporting their abuse due to stigmas, shame, and fear, one organization in Mumbai, Arpan, is working to empower children and their caregiving network — teachers, parents, and local NGOs — with the knowledge and skills to prevent CSA and provide support to those have been victimized.

Founder Pooja Taparia started Arpan after an outing to the theater. The play was "Bitter Chocolate," and depicted the devastating effect of child sexual abuse in her country. Taparia returned home after the play and researched the issue further. She was startled by the numbers she read, but was more shocked by the lack of interventions working to combat the issue. In 2006, she launched Arpan and has now reached over 66,000 children and adults directly and over 200,000 individuals indirectly. Arpan is now the largest organization in the world working on the issue of CSA.

A well-known expert in the field of CSA, Dr. Lois Engelbrecht, who is based in the Philippines, says that Arpan's model is unique. "Especially noteworthy is the large scale of prevention work by professionals who teach thousands of children personal safety skills every year using research-based materials and methodology. I know no other NGO in the world where the staff follow such a holistic model of prevention and healing with children in schools."

While Arpan's work has reached thousands, the extent of the issue has called for greater legal protection for children. Following the Delhi rape case in 2012, the government has set up new committees to address sexual abuse, especially attentive to the needs of children, but experts warn that implementation, including training for police, child welfare workers, and NGOs, is key.

"The Indian government at the highest levels recognizes that much more needs to be done to protect the country's children from sexual abuse, but it has yet to take significant steps to address problems of discrimination, bias, and sheer insensitivity," says Meenakshi Ganguly, South Asia director at Human Rights Watch. "As many officials have pointed out to us, creating laws or providing training is an important step, but this has to be followed up with concrete action. Just as important, a change in mindset is needed where both abusers and those who protect them by neglecting their duty are held accountable." Close.

Urban security

Mexico City, 4 August 2014 — In Mexico City, high crime rates are an important factor in the quality of life experienced by residents. The Pro-Neighbor Movement joins local and federal governments in preventing crime and encouraging the building of social capital through campaigns and a neighborhood security system for the protection of residents' rights. See more.

Urban security

María Fernanda Carvallo, Mexico City Community Manager

The lack of security and increase in the crime rate in Mexico City degrades the quality of life of its residents — among other factors, by producing a severe breakdown of the social fabric in urban areas.

To address this problem, Movimiento Pro-Vecino (Pro-Neighbor Movement) is an organization that has emerged to improve the quality of life in working-class neighborhoods, upper-class neighborhoods and in local government through a collaborative environment open to ideas. This organization is composed of local neighbors that work hand-in-hand with authorities to try to solve urban issues. To provide solutions to the problem of lack of local security in the city, the Programa Integral para la Reconstrucción del Tejido Social y la Prevención del Delito en Zonas Urbanas (the Integral Program for the Reconstruction of the Social Fabric and Prevention of Crimes in Urban Areas) considers the neighborhood union as a mechanism to create social capital from a participative frame in which a union of neighbors acquires greater responsibility by helping their local government plan its agenda, carry out its projects, and develop its programs.

Through this organization, residents develop a Program of Urban Security that considers the socioeconomic and cultural context of their neighborhood in order to improve the security of the community. Similarly, this program promotes the practice of reporting crimes to local authorities and fighting for local citizens' rights, since it identifies the mechanisms necessary to solicit from authorities the means to protect the citizens' quality of life.

Since 2000, workshops have been implemented in these neighborhoods to empower residents and generate a change in the neighbors in order to contribute to the prevention of crime. An essential factor that has contributed to the success of these workshops is that the participants develop their own methodologies, share their experiences, and recognize the need for a neighborhood union. This way, they identify what is necessary to carry out their plan of urban security with the help of local authorities. Concepts covered in these workshops include the participation of local residents, neighborhood organization, the prevention of crime, and local security.

Similarly, the movement generates campaigns to install communal street lights and alarms in the neighborhoods. The neighborhood alarm enables residents to call for help in case they are the victim of a crime. Among the houses of a group of neighbors, a wiring network and a set of external alarms is installed, so that in case of a dangerous situation, a neighbor could alert the authorities through other fellow neighbors by activating alarms and a light to locate the place of the incident.

In coordination with the Secretary of Federal Public Security, Movimiento Pro-Vecino developed a manual of communal organization for the prevention of crimes, which was broadcast by the Secretary to local residents to encourage them to adopt preventative measures and develop communal plans.

Pro-Movimiento Vecinal is an example of how local residents, through participation and organization, can plan and collaborate with authorities in local security matters to create a safer environment. Close.

More food, less violence?

Lilongwe, 1 August 2014 — Does hunger cause crime? Experience from Lilongwe suggests that it does, and that improving urban food security can reduce crime — including gender-based violence — during Malawi's "hunger months." To make this happen, the Lilongwe Urban Poor People's Network wants to tell the city's poor about the benefits of permaculture. See more.

More food, less violence?

Nora Lindstrom, Lilongwe Community Manager

The first few months of every year are known as the hunger months in Malawi. They occur when the next crop of maize — the country's staple — is not yet ready for consumption while reserves from the previous harvest have run out. In July 2013 the World Food Programme estimated that more than 1.4 million people in Malawi's rural areas — or around 10 percent of the country's population — were at risk of hunger over 2013-2014.

What about residents in the urban areas? Generally, city dwellers are considered better off than their rural counterparts, and Lilongwe does not feature on food insecurity forecasts produced by the government. That doesn't mean that residents in the capital don't go hungry, however: given the high cost of living in Lilongwe, the number of poor (25 percent) and ultra-poor (9 percent) in the capital is likely to be under-estimated.

In a December 2013 post on the blog Participation, Power and Social Change, IDS Research Fellow Naomi Hossain talks about how the "direct nature of the causal link between" violence against women and girls and food insecurity crystallised for her while travelling in Malawi. The message was clear and consistent: "cases of violence against women and girls tend to increase sharply with hunger." Older studies have also noted a link between crime and the hunger months: a 2004 study entitled Crimes of Need by the Institute for Security Studies Africa shows how crop thefts appear to be highest just prior to harvest (and therefore at the peak of the hunger months).

Data to confirm an increase in crime, gender-based or otherwise, during the hunger months is hard to come by. Off the record, however, relevant authorities acknowledge there is a correlation. Many women in Lilongwe's poor areas also agree the link is real. At a recent meeting organised by the Lilongwe Urban Poor People's Network (LUPPEN), one woman commented on how she was more afraid to walk outside, especially in the dark, during the rainy season. "The maize grows high and the people face hunger so there is more crime," she said.

The interesting suggestion here is that improvements in urban (and rural) food security could help to strengthen overall security. By comparison, initiatives such as installing street lights come across as band-aids on a deeper problem, although there of course is no one solution. An option LUPPEN is keen to explore is urban agriculture. "We have a lot of empty land in Lilongwe, and many of the urban poor in the city grow maize there," says H.W. Mamba, Coordinator for LUPPEN. "But unfortunately, most of the plots lie unused in-between crops." Inspired by the principles of permaculture as practiced at the Lilongwe-based Kusamala Institute for Agriculture and Ecology, Mamba says LUPPEN hopes to promote year-round household access to food in the city's poorer areas.

Clearly, this will not solve all urban security problems. As Jonathan Crush and Bruce Fayne argue in Africa's Urban Revolution, "the extent of urban agriculture and its contribution to household food security are insubstantial in many poor areas of [Southern African Development Community] cities." There will also be those who engage in domestic violence and other types of crime whether or not there is food on the table. But it's fundamental to acknowledge the role food insecurity can play in spurring crime and violent behaviour, and therefore how, by addressing food security, we can also address the general security situation in cities. Close.

The All India Kabadi Mazdoor Mahasangh (AIKMM) has received the draft of the new Solid Waste Management Manual from the Ministry of Urban Development (MoUD), and we write this letter to offer some preliminary comments. Firstly, we commend your office for releasing a drafted manual that acknowledges the informal economy and the important roles it plays in reducing costs, helping the environment, generating livelihoods, and bringing valuable expertise to the table with regard to municipal solid waste management. Likewise we were pleased to note an emphasis on decentralized waste management, segregation at the source, and integration of the informal economy in your draft. Compared to the 2000 Manual this is a much more enlightened document.

However, we fundamentally disagree with the approach your ministry has taken to the inclusion of key stakeholders in the drafting of this document. We encourage you to refer to our first letter (titled “Initial Response of Informal Waste Workers to Municipal Solid Waste Management Manual DRAFT 2014”) for a more complete explanation of our grievances. It is offensive, inappropriate, and downright unconstitutional for AIKMM to have been entirely excluded from the drafting process of this document, as we have been asked only to submit recommended revisions to a draft that is all but complete. This approach reveals that MoUD has valued the inputs and priorities of internationally owned enterprises over the needs of its citizens thus far.
In a hope to contribute some constructive suggestions to the drafting process of this Manual, however late, AIKMM submits two attachments. The first is a list of nine preliminary comments directed at particular sections of the DRAFT Manual. The second attachment (titled “Systemic Model for discussion”) offers a basic model for decentralized waste management that we hope might inform the MoUD Manual.

We look forward to working together in the future to address the fundamental problem of stakeholder exclusion from the MoUD drafting process in a way that meets the following demands of our organization:

1. Central legislation should be immediately enacted to mandate that state and local governments guarantee livelihoods, social security, space, and welfare services for waste collectors.
2. Waste collectors’ work should be officially recognized. Workers should be granted legal status, issued government IDs, and granted authorized access to waste.
3. In every neighborhood, waste collectors should be given space to sort waste and prepare compost.
4. The exclusive rights for door-to-door collection of waste from housing clusters and neighborhoods should be assigned to informal-sector waste workers. Private sector companies should be kept out of door-to-door waste collection.
5. States should establish provisions to manage recycling units at the community level, and sanitary landfills at the district level.
6. All current and proposed waste-to-energy incineration projects should be abandoned, and the rights of informal-sector workers to access waste should be restored, with immediate effect.

Really interesting initiatives by the two factories. I’m curious though whether there is something ‘special’ about these two companies – from my experience in Cambodia, owners of sweatshops are generally not particularly concerned with the welfare of their workers. Or perhaps this is a sign of Vietnam rising up on the sweatshop ladder? It was also interesting to read that parents (mothers I most usually I presume) take their kids with them when they migrate to HCMC for work. Again in Cambodia, it seemed more common for children to be left in the home province under the care of grand-parents or other relatives.

Yours is a tough question! Sweatshops in Vietnam do receive similar criticism as in neighboring countries. What is ‘special’ about these 2 examples could be that they were focused on and encouraged by the Ministry of Planning & Investment (MPI), the Labour Union, and the Ho Chi Minh City Export Processing and Industrial Zone Authority (HEPZA), in the 2010 project to improve worker welfare. The progress was vigorously pushed by these three, and the Vice President even made her visit to the completed kindergarten in Pou Yuen.

However, why these particular companies took up this encouragement is hard to know. To know whether it is care or just a marketing gesture, I guess we can only keep an eye on these initiatives, and see whether the built kindergarten is properly operated and maintained.

As for the fact that migrant parents usually have their children living with them in HCMC, there are 2 possible reasons I could list from the SAVVY survey and my own observation. First, this group of people usually migrate right after high school and before marriage age, so they meet their partner in HCMC, have their kids in HCMC with a "city" citizenship. Second, with such a good citizenship, their children can attend much better schools in the city, as compared to the quality of home provinces’ schools.

I’m curious to know if the situation is different in Cambodia, so that the children commonly stay in home province?

Promotion of open data and the development websites that allow city dwellers to contribute and comment on what’s going on in the city have been a very interesting development over the past decade. When it comes to mapping crime, however, it’s important to also look at the capacity of the police (and other relevant stakeholders) to address the issue. Many crime reports from a particular area could result in it be highlighted as crime-ridden and consequently suffer further unless there are adequate means and resources to take action in response to high reported crime rates. This is particularly a concern when using crowdsourced data; if a resident of a particular area is victim of a crime, his or her decision to report the crime may also depend on what can be gained (e.g. further crime vs crackdown), thus potentially skewing the data. (There are of course many other reasons crowdsourced data might be skewed too!) That said, I’m very curious to have a further look at the Ecocitizen World Map Project – thanks for sharing!

you are correct in pointing out to the non scientific nature of social data. Still, it is one more source of information in an area in which the only information available, official numbers, are often skewed, deliberately--for political reasons--or by poor management. I was positively surprised to see that Caracas is also using mapping techniques to fight the awful crime situation. Social media is also a tool in Cairo. We are only at the dawn of what social media can do. And it does indeed carry risks than also need to be carefully watched.

Eliana, I was curious to read your article this week, because I often here Mumbai and Rio's informal settlements compared to each other, but it has always struck me that Rio's informal neighborhoods have been so much more widely associated with violence and crime. It's always surprising to me that Mumbai's crime rate is so low (domestic violence not included) given the vast inequalities in the city. In most cities, these "have"-"have not" gaps often incite deep frustrations among the disenfranchised, which often translate to violence. Unlike your example in Rio, I think this relative peace is a credit to the people and the systems and relations they form in spite of the police not necessarily because of them.

Rio's example of community policing is one that has resonated around the world, even in the U.S., where I'm from. It seems the key is to gain the trust of the local community, which often has a negative view of the police, and to have a regular, visable presence beyond just when a crime occurs. What I've heard is that community policing actually stresses prevention of crime and early intervention in developing criminality in youths by linking them to other organizations working on related issues--youth development, job growth, etc. I wonder if this network has been developed at all in Rio or if they have thought holistically like this.

yours is a question that I have often asked myself: why is violence much more prevalent in Latin America than in India. Both regions share unacceptable social inequality, segregation and lack of education, the three more often cited roots of violence. I am increasingly convince that the difference is caused by one key factor: the availability of guns. Here in Colombia guns are exceedingly easy to obtain. In Cali, as I pointed out in my article, gun limitations have been imposed in certain neighborhoods with immediate positive results.

I posted this question to several experts in the WUF7, and most of them struggled with the answer. Gun availability is probably the variable that makes the dramatic difference, even more than the illicit drug trade. I am sure there is research done on this issue, perhaps some other member of the URB.IM community will be able to provide a more accurate answer.

I found this months discussion very eclectic covering security issues across different sectors. I really found the security issues around children and child abuse very interesting. It is easy to tackle security challenges that occur openly but sexual abuse is more intimate and private. Quite often social and cultural factors also affect the willingness to addresses such issues and defining it is also a problem. Giving these factors, its great to see civil society and private enterprises picking up the slack where political will to do so may be lacking.

In Lagos, there has been legislation to address child abuse and sexual abuse. However, Carlin is very right when she mentions that the issue goes beyond creating a solution but in enforcing it and creating an environment where victims feel comfortable to seek for assistance and help. Enlightenment of what constitutes security threat to the vulnerable, children, women etc becomes a key component in ensuring their security.

Gemma, I totally agree with you that building social capital is crucial for enhancing security in the cities. Through the reinforcement of trust and social relations within a neighborhood people must change their perception of insecurity and will feel social support in order to face insecurity. The case of Mexico City is similar with Dar es Salaam where people is interested in creating spaces of interaction in order to solve problems through the participation of people, however it seems that the success depends on the entailment with local authorities and their capacity to support victims and take actions. Is there any evaluation to the program that demonstrates the impact of making the city safer for its inhabitants?

The articles above show the various perspectives on urban safety and inclusion, from crime and homicides to sexual violence and pedestrian safety. One can clearly see that increasing trust between police and civilians is key in building social resiliency against crime. This is common through the case studies of pacifying police units in Rio de Janeiro, pro neighbor movement in Mexico, and PCPA in Jakarta. All of the case studies focus on increasing civilian participation and improving the relationship between the police and community to pacify crime.

The case study of Desármate, Medítele A Este Cuento in Cali and Maboneng Township Arts Experience in Cape Town shows how artistic unity and projects can become a tool for increasing awareness, changing perceptions, and opening gated communities to larger public. While, the use of technology such as hot spot theory and geo-referenced homicide data in Caracas, radio broadcasting in Lagos and Social GIS in Bogotá can increase the capacity of under-resourced police, bring more awareness as well as close the perception gap of crime in now safe neighborhoods.

The case study of NGO Arpan in Mumbai, NGO Jagori in Delhi, Child Decent City Award in Surabaya, safer cities program in Dar Es Salaam and migrant workers in Ho Chi Minh City show that its important to work with minority population to make our cities free of sexual violence and gender based discrimination. It is critical to take preventing measures empowering children and women with personal safety skills, strengthening community collectives and making our public spaces women and children friendly.

Thanks for the really interesting case studies everyone! It's great to hear about the practices being implemented across urban areas, each provide a opportunity of sharing ideas for changing our own cities.

Tariq, the case of MTAE in Cape Town is great to hear about. Gated communities are prevalent in many developing cities due to the growing inequalities prevalent. In dar es salaam gated communities are seen as a safety solution for the elite. Spaces have, and continue to be, built around the city to block out the other like you say and feel safer in a closed community. the people choosing to live in such spaces vary from international workers to a rising number of Dar's middle class. I think one of the differences in the two cases from what you have described about Cape Town, is the spatial proximity of the communities. In dar it seems the gates are put in elite spaces, picturesque, far from the 'other'. In Cape Town are they often closer in proximity? Also it's interesting to think about who is designing these gated communities, private overseas investors? Elite themselves? Governments?

These use of art in ungating is positive, reminding communities of talent, and providing new perspectives on the community. When we discuss ungating it's interesting to see the solutions fall onto the poor - the poor changing the use of space, design of space, and practices in space. MTAE is a positive example, especially it's incorporation into the world city design. I wonder if there are efforts on the other side - elite communities using practices to ungate the city? Also as it is open to all the public, who attends? The process of ungating requires change on both side, a two way exchange into different spaces, minds and places, therefore different groups need to be involved and the removal of gates normalized.

Great approach Gemma. However, are there some statistics indicating the success of UN Habitat programme? like reduced numbers of street crimes...etc
You stated very interesting point when you revealed the core of the problem of city lack of safety and crimes, which is inequality between inhabitants at the first place, so do the government or the local grassroot NGOs took the lead and build up on the initiatives of UN habitat and UNICEF to create for example shelters for homeless people or SMEs for unemployed people who sometimes steal and commit street crimes to get some money for food and life expenses, and so the victims usually are women.
Kind regards, Shaima

Gating might in fact improve security for those within the gates, while they are gated, thus creating a sense of security. Still, do we really want to live in gated cities? Gates and segregation go against everything a city should be: a place of exchange, of interaction, of cooperation. Furthermore, gating creates greater overall violence, as security decreases in the cities as segregation deepens. Also, the creation of gated communities creates stresses over the urban development of the cities. Such is the case of Bogotá, where expansion, particularly in the north, is taking the form of massive gated communities, that occupy to much land and make the building of services, such as transportation, far more costly.

I was fascinated to read about what happened in Curitiba. Massive increase in police presence resulted in a drastic reduction of violence in a very short term. As the police retreated, crime rates returned to their previos levels, also very quickly. Still, the same question arises as with gated communities, do we want to live in a city with an overwhelming police presence?

As with gated community, heavily policed cities are not financially viable on the long term. Also, it is fair to assume that the effect of sharp increases is lower as time goes by and the violence finds new ways.

I found it really interesting cases this time of discussion as the topic provide us opportunity to use different approach to different issues. Safety is for sure something to be considered as a basic need. HarassMap in Cairo reminds me of the work by one of Indonesia Ngo that promote pluralism and freedom of religion called the Wahid Institute. They provided an online application where people can report violence against religion minority. The map they produce will be circulated widely to public and formal report will be given to related ministries. Related to HarassMap, can I ask Shaima what is the advocacy strategy they use to utilize HarassMap? And how government react to those map and result?

I also think that the cape town case is really interesting. Thank you Tariq for writing it here. I can imagine that Indonesian cities could do similar activity as we have many culturally vibrant cities. Tariq, can I ask what kind of approach does MTAE initially approach the gated and ungated communities? And were there any resistance from both communities? Because I would like to think what will happen if we have similar event in Indonesia, because, as you said, gated communities were formed for the sake of exclusivism and privatization instead of safety reason. Hence getting them onboard with this idea would be a challenge.

Tall landscapes and gated houses does not necessarily lead to safer cities especially if the majority of inhabitants were born and are living in poverty. Most mals in society are caused by poverty, with most of the poor being unable to get a decent education thus can more easily turn to crime than anything else.

By allowing the poor afford good housing or even giving them the jobs to build houses that will benefit them can greatly promote safety. Not many people like to destroy what they built. So, for safer cities, including every one without segregation and allowing everyone enjoy the reward can get us there. Not overnight but certainly in good time.